Expert: Federal school reform plan is wrong

By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor

February 20th, 2011

Some experts suggest that the nation's approach to school reform is headed down the wrong path.

The president is wrong. Arne Duncan is wrong. The media are wrong. Many state administrators are wrong: This was the message on the current state of school reform in a Feb. 18 keynote session at the American Association of School Administrators‘ National Conference on Education.

You wouldn’t expect to hear these inflammatory statements boldly pronounced by a woman who looks more suited to serving lemonade to grandchildren than inspiring hundreds of attendees at 8 a.m. amid the mountainous backdrop of Colorado.

With her elegantly cropped gray hair, string of pearls, and deep blue eyes on a petite face lined with years of experiences, Diane Ravitch, research professor of education at New York University and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, had a few choice words on how current tough tactics supported by federal policy to encourage school reform are harming education rather than supporting it.